augustus aspinwall



L. A. ASPINWALL.

9 Potato-Digger. Nd 66,064 Patented June 254 1867 gotten totes utmt ffiL. AUGUSTUS 'ASPINWALL. OF ALBANY; NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 66,064, dated June 25, 1867.

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Be it knovvn that I, L. Auousrus Asrmwsns, of the city of Albany, Stateof New York, have invented certain improvements upon the Machine forDigging Potatoes, for which'I-ietters Patent of the United States weregrantedto me on the 12th day of June, 1866; and I declare the followingspecification, with the drawings forming part thereof, to-be a full andcomplete description of my intention.

Figure 1 represents a plan view of'the machine.

Figure 2 represents a profile view of the some.

- Figure 3 a reverse plan view of the same.

Figure 4, a perspective view of one of the separators; and

Figure 5 ,.a perspective View of the vine-fork.

Similar letters denotethe same parts of the apparatus.

My improvements consist partly of change of position of some of theports of the machine, and partly of additional apparatus. I I

A is the frame of the machine, supported by and-upon the wheels W. P isa plough extending'across the .width of the frame and projecting infront of it. It is a scoop with a plough-point, suspended from the frameby two arms B, which extend 'baekwsrdsibclcw the frame, and are pivotedat 0, near the rear of the frame and at ate the rear lower corners ofthe mould-boards Q of the plough. The plough is also supportedby twostandards, D, projecting-upwards from Q, through loopsE, on the sides ofthe frame, and by these standends it can be raised or. lowered, andgraduated for its work. Bent levers T, connected together at top, areattached to the upper ends of If, \viththeir lower limbs curved,sis-shown, acting upon the frame as a fulcrum, so that thedepression, bythe foot of the drirer, of their upper-parts, shall raise the ploughfrom the ground. In place of frames or screens, to separate the potdtoesfrom the dirt and weeds, I eniploy what I call separators,

which are, as shown in fig. 4, fingersf and g, projecting from headslp.The heads are continued inthe form of' rods 11;, which extend obliquelyupwards and backwards to cranks L-on ashaft lying across the back partof frame A; the cranks being, arranged, theone opposite to the other, soas to alternate the movements of the fingers back andforth. Movement isgiven tothe shaft by cog-wheelsupon its outer ends, receiving actionfrom wheelslfiby'gsaring, as shown in the drawings, or any otherconvenient mode of transmitting their motion. Thohendsp pass under themould-board of the'plongh, where they are supported and more uponrollers J.' The fingers are arranged in reference to each other as shownin fig. 4,ff, being placed one over 7 the other,-and the intermediateones, 9, so as to occupy the horizontal range between the others,forming three 'f diatinot' horiaontal ranges. The number of fingers isnot limited to those shown.

It will be seen that the movement of the fingers is a tossing one,forwards and backwards, and upwards a'udtywnwards, thoroughly siftingthe material passing'from the plough to them. By the triple arrangementof e fingers described, a large space is given for the passage ofearth,whilst the potatoes are sure to be caught by one or the other ofthe rows, and detained until the earth is'entirely cleared from-them.

mom of the plough'projects s vine-fork, intended to pick uptheyines, anddraw them inwards 'over it. Itconaists of a pair of arms, Gpex tending'obliquely downwards from the axle X, upon which 'theyare pivotedtoapcinta short distance in advance of the point of the plough. Theytheresupport or'form part of thd I outer-ends of a curved'forlr, 13,whose form is shown in fig. 5, froln theup'per part of whose nrch a bar,6, passes upwards throughthe pole N of the machine, by which'the properheight-of the fork is Behind-the fork, and just over the point'of theplough, is placed a roller, R. Itis-supported by its axis upon the armsG. It is composed oftwo outer disks or flanges, between ivhich lies adouble cone roller, larger atthe'ends than at I the middle. The rollerservres'to back up or holdflthe earth raised by the front of theplonghuhtil it passes over its surface. It also holds the vines gatheredby thefcrh b itspressure upon them, preventing them, when long, frombeing pulled outfrom'the earth upon the plough, and .thus forces them topass-back to the separators. i i v The operation of the machine is thus:The fork passing through the sides of the potato-hills, picks up andgathers thevines towards the cent'ie of the plough, passing them underthe roileig' The plough passing under the hills rniscsup, and,'aide dby'th'e roller, forces ths eurth, vines, and potatoes over itssurfaeeyamt drops them'npon the separators,.which shake out and drop allthe soil, leavingthspotatoes \vith the'rinel; whiehpass to the rear, andare left in the track of the machine. 7 V l i What I claim as myinvention, digging machine, the following devi specification 1. Theconstruction of the separators, having three rows of fin 2. The directconnection of'the separators with the cranks.

3. The employment of the roller.

4. The combination ot' the roller with the fork. 5.' The bent lever T.

end desire to secure by Letters Patent is, ces, substantially asdescribed and for the Witnesses:

Rrcnn Vsmcx DEWITT.

D. W. DnWx'r'r.

in the construction of a potatopurposes set forth in the within gets intheir horizontal range.

L. AUGS. ASPINWALL.

